


call me maybe

by dytabytes



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: F/M, Post-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-04 22:40:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/398990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dytabytes/pseuds/dytabytes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Set directly after The Avengers) Pepper calls Tony.</p>
            </blockquote>





	call me maybe

_He made it. Tony made it back._

Pepper’s bones go weak and she falls down into a slump, letting out the breath she’d been holding since she realized what her boyfriend had decided to do. She lets herself stay limp, breathes once, twice, thrice, then her phone beeps. Missed call.

Well, that’s enough of that. Aliens may have invaded Manhattan, but the world’s still turning and there’s business to do. She straightens up and tucks her hair behind her ears. Time to get back to work.

Only not, because it’s not a business call that she missed. It’s Tony’s face staring up at her from her phone. She missed him when he called not five minutes ago, and the bottom just drops out her stomach when she connects the dots together through the haze of shock. He’d called her while he’d been flying. Seconds left on the clock, and he’d called her.

Of _course_ , he’d called her.

And she hadn’t picked up.

Immediately, Pepper excuses herself, practically running out the room so she can hide herself in the washroom down the hall and call her boyfriend three, four times in a row, cursing quietly at him to pick up his goddamn phone every time his answering machine message starts up again. Frantic to get in touch with him, she doesn’t think about what will happen when she gets through... and then when he picks up, all she can come up with is, "Tony."

"Hey, Pep."

She can hear the smile on his lips and knows how fake it is. For once, she’s not sure how to fix this. There’s no plan of action, no previous experience in her back pocket for a screw up like this.

"I saw you called."

"Yeah, you know how it is. Man goes off to his imminent demise, he thinks about maybe calling his girl to say goodbye." And he says it like a joke, but she can hear the hurt underlying the words.

Desperate, she blurts, “They showed it on the news. When you went up. I..." She bites her lip and her voice breaks as she adds, "I couldn't tear myself away."

She hadn't been able to hear anything at that moment, not even the drone of the news commentator. Her senses had blanked out everything, vision tunneling in until her world had narrowed to the terrible sight of Tony flying up into the hole in the sky.

"Oh.", says Tony.

And she realizes what to say. It’s simple really.

When she whispers, "I'm sorry, Tony.”, it’s the first time she’s ever been the one speaking that phrase to him, rather than the other way around. It’s new and it’s awkward, and it some ways, it means more than the “I love you.” that she’s never said to him before, either.

There’s a breath of confused silence as he processes what just happened, then finally he responds, “It’s... It’s okay. Shit happens.”, and Pepper can breathe again.

From there, things are easy. Tony laughs under his breath, says, "So hey, we're gonna go get some shawarma now that we're, uh, done here. You wanna come?", and she politely declines on autopilot, “No, thank you--”, but then she rethinks that course of action and changes their routine once again.

“No, thank you, but give my regards to the Avengers … and don’t stay out too late.”

“Lemme guess, I have a meeting tomorrow?”

There’s a wicked smile on her face as she responds, “No, because I’ll be waiting for you. In your bed. And if you take too long, I might just fall asleep before you get here.”

She hangs up while he sputters, grins serenely as she opens the door to the bathroom, just in time for landing, and starts making _arrangements_. Stark Towers’ living quarters are probably a mess at this point, and she’s going to have to hurry if she wants to get it into some kind of order before Tony gets back.


End file.
